How to Join a LAN Server in Minecraft

Minecraft's LAN (Local Area Network) feature lets you play with friends or family on the same Wi-Fi or wired network — no dedicated server software, no port forwarding, no subscription required. It's one of the quickest ways to get a multiplayer session running, but it comes with a few conditions that aren't always obvious.

Here's a clear walkthrough of how LAN play works, what affects it, and why your results may differ from someone else's.

What "LAN Server" Actually Means in Minecraft

When a player opens their single-player world to LAN, Minecraft temporarily broadcasts that world as a joinable server — but only to devices on the same local network. No data leaves your home router. Other players on the same Wi-Fi or Ethernet network can discover and join that session directly through the game's multiplayer menu.

This is different from:

• A dedicated server (a separate machine running server software continuously)
• A Realms subscription (Mojang's cloud-hosted multiplayer service)
• A third-party server with a public IP address

LAN play is session-based. When the host closes the game, the server disappears.

Which Version You're Using Matters a Lot

Minecraft has two distinct editions, and they handle LAN very differently.

If you're on Java Edition, everyone on the session must also be running Java Edition. If you're on Bedrock Edition, players can join from different devices — a phone, an Xbox, a Windows PC — as long as they're all running Bedrock.

Trying to connect a Java player to a Bedrock host (or vice versa) won't work, regardless of how good your network is.

How to Open a World to LAN (Java Edition)

1. Launch your single-player world as the host
2. Press Escape to open the pause menu
3. Click "Open to LAN"
4. Choose your game mode and whether to allow cheats
5. Click "Start LAN World"

Minecraft will display a port number in the chat — something like Local game hosted on port 54321. Other players on the same network don't need this number if auto-discovery works, but it's useful as a backup.

How to Join the LAN Session (Java Edition)

On the joining player's machine:

1. Open Minecraft Java Edition
2. Click Multiplayer
3. Wait a moment — the host's world should appear automatically under "LAN World" in the server list
4. Click it and select Join Server

If the world doesn't appear automatically, click "Direct Connection" and enter the host's local IP address plus the port number (e.g., 192.168.1.5:54321). You can find the host's local IP by running ipconfig (Windows) or ifconfig / ip a (Mac/Linux) in the terminal.

How to Join a LAN Game on Bedrock Edition

On Bedrock, the process is slightly different depending on the device:

1. Open Minecraft Bedrock Edition
2. Go to Play → Friends tab
3. The host's world should appear under "LAN Games" if they've enabled multiplayer in world settings
4. Tap or click Join

On Bedrock, the host doesn't need to manually "open to LAN" the same way — instead, multiplayer access is toggled in the world settings before or during play. The host also needs to be signed into a Microsoft account and have multiplayer game enabled in their world settings.

Common Reasons LAN Discovery Fails 🔧

Even when everything looks right, LAN connections don't always work out of the box. The most frequent causes:

• Different network segments: Both devices must be on the same subnet — typically the same Wi-Fi network or the same router. A guest network and a main network won't see each other.
• Firewall blocking the port: Windows Firewall or third-party security software can block Minecraft's LAN broadcast. You may need to allow Minecraft through the firewall on the host machine.
• VPN active on one device: VPNs reroute traffic and can prevent local network discovery entirely. Disabling the VPN often resolves the issue immediately.
• Mismatched game versions: If one player is on Minecraft 1.20 and another is on 1.21, they won't be able to connect. Both must run the exact same game version.
• Bedrock requiring Xbox/Microsoft sign-in: Without a valid Microsoft account on Bedrock, LAN visibility can be restricted.

What Affects the Experience Once You're In

Joining is one thing — playing smoothly is another. LAN performance depends on:

• Host machine specs: The host is running both the game and serving it to others. A low-RAM machine will struggle as more players join.
• Network type: A wired Ethernet connection between players (even through a switch) is more stable than Wi-Fi, especially for chunk loading and real-time interaction.
• World complexity: Heavy redstone builds, many loaded chunks, or mods on Java Edition will place more load on the host's CPU and memory.
• Number of players: LAN sessions aren't designed to scale the way a dedicated server is. Performance tends to degrade noticeably beyond 4–5 players.

The Variables That Determine Your Setup 🖥️

The steps above cover the general path, but whether LAN play works smoothly — or at all — comes down to factors specific to your situation: which edition everyone owns, what devices are in the mix, how your home network is configured, and what the host machine can handle. Two households following the same steps can end up with meaningfully different experiences based on those details alone.